Why real estate photography? Well, in the times we live in, a picture can say more than a thousand words. We live in a time where people prefer videos to books. This means words are no longer sufficient to describe something. In the case of real estate, that could not be more true. If you are looking for a listing of a property you are interested in, the first thing you do is click on the photos. The photos can make or break the property, portraying it as an amazing opportunity, fuelling a desire or attracting a buyer. If the photos are just good and not well taken, they can cause indifference. If they are not good at all or even missing, then your chances of renting or selling that property are considerably lower.
I have gone through this experience many times and I cannot overstate the importance of photos that not only capture the attractive features of the property, but photos that actually show all of the property. I have come across listings for a vacant site that had a single photo. You would expect the photo to show the site itself, with a panoramic view of what the buyer is getting, to spark interest, but no. This photo showed a bit of the country road, a little of the vegetation in front of the property and, the agent’s “For Sale” sign. It seems like a great idea to include the agent’s sign, and I am not saying that is wrong. The issue I see is that there is only that photo on each ad, when they could have shown so much more of the properties, attracting much more interest and attention.
Another site had blurry pictures of the site, with what seemed to either be a filter or a camera that had a faulty lens. Maybe the lens was dirty. The fact is, the photos weren’t good. They didn’t help sell the site. This ad had several photos, which is good, but they were all blurry and foggy. Maybe the photographer wanted to give the area a romantic look or improve the listing with special effects, but honestly, it did not work well. I have found several ads on property sites that show a single photo or a photo and then a scan of the property document (folio). I think a few additional photos would have improved the listing considerably.
I love creativity and I think people should improve the quality of their photos, so if that was the intention, I do commend the agent for trying. However, as a buyer, that would not be my impression.
Having said all that, I will not fault the agents for two important reasons. First of all, they are usually not photographers. Second, and most important of all, their job is to sell, not to take pictures. Most of these agents excel at selling properties and for that exact reason, photographers like myself should step in and take the burden of taking photos of a site, property, house, apartment, or commercial property off the agent.
Now, imagine you are selling a site for farmland. If you include a drone shot that shows the amazing view of a mountain in the background, the lush green that gives Ireland its nickname of Emerald Isle, and maybe other properties surrounding it to give it scale, you might attract more buyers.
Not just drone shots, ground-level photos are also essential to give buyers a sense of scale for the size of the site. A good photo can inspire and stimulate the imagination of the buyer. This trick is used by food companies all the time, making their product attractive, making you want to walk in and buy the food.
Using nature to promote how amazing the property is can definitely help as well. Incorporate artistic photos in your listing to further stimulate the buyer’s imagination.
The next time you want to list a property, call me for a photo shoot. Let the property be the model to seduce the buyers through amazing photos that highlight the amazing features of the property. If the first impression is what we remember the most, having amazing photos of the property will surely boost sales.
Email info@publicimage.ie or call 087-388-6193